Li Mo digested the memories pouring from the Book of Fortune, most of them fragmented scenes.
From them, he learned that Eternal Life seemingly had not yet appeared seven thousand years ago.
The Heart Beast Sect of that era was the cultivation sect Li Mo had imagined, its disciples all Immortals of the Land who rode the wind away.
He drew a deep breath. His mind swam with dizziness, yet his thoughts became increasingly sharp.
Li Mo could barely keep his balance. His brain seemed to be undergoing a metamorphosis. Fortunately, the children were already exhausted, and several of them were retching continuously nearby, making him seem less conspicuous.
"Hei Wa, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing. Don't make a fuss."
Zhao Zhu noticed Li Mo's abnormality and hurriedly supported him.
Shopkeeper Tian paid no attention to the children's expressions. After issuing a warning, he led them toward the city gate.
"See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil."
The soldiers guarding the city did not dare question Shopkeeper Tian. They proactively lowered their man-tall spears, bowing their heads and not daring to look directly at him.
Shopkeeper Tian's expression remained indifferent as he puffed out his belly and strode into the city.
Li Mo frowned slightly. He had already finished digesting the memories brought by the Book of Fortune, but the information concerning the Heart Beast Sect was somewhat sparse.
He forced himself to stay alert and observed Smelting Town's streets and alleys.
Smelting Town covered the entire mountain peak and had a population of at least several hundred thousand. Mainly because of Eternal Life's bizarre nature, the number of townspeople had remained on an upward trend.
The townspeople's corpse transformations were severe, accompanied by strange deformities. In Niu Family Village, bodies so rotten would have long been incapable of labor.
Yet Li Mo could not tell whether Smelting Town was connected to the Heart Beast Sect. He could clearly sense dangerous auras emanating from several people.
He even had the illusion that the townspeople were completely unaffected by Death Sickness.
Li Mo looked up toward the mountaintop. The town was divided into inner and outer sections, with an Inner City Wall encircling the ridgeline.
That was similar to seven thousand years ago. The Heart Beast Sect had also been divided into the Outer Sect and Inner Sect.
Shopkeeper Tian turned into a side street, and the children crowded together as they squeezed in behind him.
"Hiss..."
Li Mo sucked in a cold breath. He inadvertently caught sight of the Grain Shop at the street corner, and the Book of Fortune, which had just fallen silent, produced another memory fragment.
Outer Elixir Hall
The Outer Elixir Hall was where Outer Sect Disciples of the Heart Beast Sect collected and refined pills. In the memories, the building resembled a jade gourd.
Yet the Grain Shop was utterly dilapidated, its walls covered in scorch marks and soot.
In front of its door, attendants poured sacks of grain into an iron cauldron. Who knew what ingredients they added afterward? The contents turned into a blackish-brown paste, and a faint burnt smell spread through the air.
"How was this anything like the Outer Elixir Hall?"
Li Mo swept his gaze over the street to the southwest, his eyes settling on a deserted Medical Hall.
Scripture Repository
"Scripture Repository?"
The Scripture Repository was where Outer Sect Disciples passed down techniques and imparted the Dao. The Medical Hall treated illnesses and saved lives; the two were as unrelated as wind and horse.
Li Mo tried to peer through the open doors of the Medical Hall to see its furnishings, but a Green Mountain Bamboo Screen in the main hall blocked his view.
What surprised him most was that ever since they had entered Smelting Town through its gates—
There had not been the slightest trace of livestock or birds and beasts. Not even half a rat could be found in the filthy corners, nor did any sparrow perch beneath the eaves.
The Heart Beast Sect had been famed throughout the Ancient Immortal Cultivation World for beast taming. Why, seven thousand years later, had birds and beasts vanished without a trace?
"Children, we're here."
Shopkeeper Tian stopped. Before them stood a bustling Pawnshop. There were more than thirty attendants just for receiving customers.
Several of the attendants were barely over twenty and had likely been recruited in recent years. Clearly, Smelting Town had long maintained the practice of visiting villages and towns to recruit apprentices.
"Greetings, Shopkeeper."
"Greetings, Shopkeeper Tian."
An attendant used a rag to pat the dust from Shopkeeper Tian's body, but when he touched the man's belly, his face twisted with unusual terror.
"I have other matters to attend to. Have Wu Wanfeng take them to rest in the rear courtyard."
After saying that, Shopkeeper Tian entered the Pawnshop without looking back, leaving the children staring at one another as they waited outside.
Li Mo stared at the Pawnshop's signboard.
According to the information revealed by the Book of Fortune, this place had been the Outer Artifact Workshop seven thousand years ago.
The Outer Artifact Workshop and Outer Elixir Hall served similar functions. The former refined artifacts, while the latter refined elixirs.
Night grew increasingly hazy. Just as the children were nodding off, the Pawnshop's accountant, Wu Wanfeng, finally arrived at a leisurely pace.
Wu Wanfeng was at most thirty, but his lips had already completely rotted away, exposing blackened gums to the air.
He hunched over, his spine twisted into a grotesque and terrifying deformity.
"Sigh, it's too late tonight. We'll assign your apprentice duties tomorrow."
The children stiffened and hurriedly rose to bow.
Wu Wanfeng paid them no heed as he walked around to the side door, which led directly to the rear courtyard's side rooms. A tall ginkgo tree grew there.
The Pawnshop occupied quite a large area, and these side rooms were the most secluded part of it.
There was only one low tile house in the courtyard. Its eaves were covered in inky-black mold, while weeds grew over half a meter high. It had clearly not been tended in a long time.
Ma Ergao hesitantly stepped forward, fished out a money pouch from his clothes, and said carefully, "Accountant Wu, look..."
"You'll be assigned to the Pawnshop's stewards. When would it ever be up to an accountant like me to decide? You'll naturally have new accommodations then."
Wu Wanfeng ignored Ma Ergao and let out several chilling laughs. "There's plenty of work in the shop. Though the Shopkeeper personally brought you in, don't expect even half a scrap of preferential treatment. Go to sleep early."
The children did not dare say more and surged into the side room like a swarm.
Rather than a side room, it was more like a storeroom. The furnishings were extremely sparse: a straw mat spread across the floor and a battered wooden table placed against the wall.
Several baskets of dry rations stood beside the table legs. After the children ate, they hurriedly fell asleep. They had expended far too much strength on the journey.
Unease was inevitable, but most children in This World matured early. Ten-year-olds getting married were everywhere, so they would not lose their heads merely because they had entered an unfamiliar environment.
Li Mo listened to the insect chirping in the courtyard and pushed aside Zhao Zhu, whose sleeping posture was poor.
He closed his eyes and distinguished the sounds outside.
Once the horizon had completely lost the sunlight, the cries of wild beasts suddenly rang out in the darkness, even though he had not seen a single bird or beast.
Although Li Mo was sleepy as well, he wanted even more to study the activated Book of Fortune.
He stared at the Book of Fortune in his mind, and its mysteries came into view.
Li Mo digested the information, then opened the Book of Fortune and discovered that it contained nine pages, eight of which were entirely blank.
The first page displayed an image of a brain.
Li Mo learned that the pages of the Book of Fortune could grant him Divine Abilities, provided he used a blank page to imprint one of his own organs.
Not only the brain—even the Eyes, Ears, Mouth, Nose, five internal organs, skin, and limbs could be involved.
Li Mo had activated the Book of Fortune by accident. Since it had been within his mind at the time, the first organ imprinted was his "brain," granting him the Divine Ability of "Eidetic Memory."
Different organs awakened Divine Abilities with their own strengths and weaknesses.
The ability to receive the Book of Fortune's memories was likely just a byproduct of Eidetic Memory.
As for why the Book of Fortune contained information about the Heart Beast Sect from seven thousand years ago, Li Mo had no idea.
Unfortunately, the memories within the Book of Fortune were fragmented and chaotic. Only after Li Mo came into contact with related things would it feed back the recorded information.
Because he was in Smelting Town, the Book of Fortune correspondingly displayed information about the Heart Beast Sect.
Li Mo's thoughts churned. If the Heart Beast Sect had left behind any heavenly treasures, perhaps he could obtain a fortuitous opportunity through the Book of Fortune.
"If I imprint my brain a second time, would it..."
The moment the thought arose, the Book of Fortune poured the result of its deduction into his mind.
He could not help but shudder.
If a page imprinted the same organ repeatedly, another identical organ would grow out. Correspondingly, the Divine Ability's power would also increase.
Li Mo wore a wry smile. Imprinting his brain again meant growing a second head—a sure sign of impending split personality.
Besides, blank pages were exceedingly precious. He did not yet know how to gain more pages, so every opportunity to imprint an organ had to be considered with utmost care.
However, aside from the brain, the five viscera could seemingly all be imprinted repeatedly. While increasing the power of Divine Abilities, they could also grant stronger bodily functions.
Li Mo looked at the eight blank pages and forcibly suppressed the urge to imprint an organ.
Imprinting a vital organ required a period of metamorphosis. He feared the Pawnshop would notice the abnormalities in his body, so it was better to wait until he understood the situation inside the shop.
He vaguely understood that Divine Abilities could grow, which meant he had to be even more cautious.
"If I imprint my heart, could it ease my heartbeat?"
"If I imprint my eyes, perhaps I could hit a target from a hundred paces?"
"If I imprint my Dantian..."
Li Mo drifted off to sleep without realizing it.
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